Recipe To Try - M & M Cookies

Me love cookies.  But I have a problem...I have been searching high and low for a good cookie recipe and haven't been able to find one.  I wanted to find a cookie recipe that made the cookies crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside - one that doesn't turn out as hard as a rock like usual!  I think I found it.

The original recipe can be found here.  I've tweaked the recipe just a tiny, tiny bit just by adding more M&M's to the mix and by baking the cookies longer since I was using an insulated cookie sheet.   

Here it is:

Ingredients

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups candy-coated milk chocolate pieces (about)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix sugar, eggs, shortening, and vanilla thoroughly. Add flour, salt, and baking soda to creamed mixture. Blend well. Add 1 cup of M&M candies (or more or less).
2. Drop dough by teaspoonful onto cookie sheet. Slightly push a few candies on top of each dough ball with remaining candies.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 9 to 11 minutes.  If using insulated cookies sheet, bake for 14 minutes.

This recipe doesn't seem much different than any other cookie recipe I've tried.  The only thing different is the shortening instead of butter.  Maybe shortening is like a magical ingredient or something.  

One hint I learned from this recipe is to stick a few M & M's on top of the dough after you drop them onto the cookie sheet.  That way you have nice, pretty M&M's showing on top of the cookie after they're baked.

Nom nom nom nom.